Time Heals All Wounds
by Hawki
Summary: Archieverse Oneshot: Did time heal all wounds? Mina wasn't sure. But her wounds were both physical and emotional, and months after the defeat of the xorda, they continued to torment her.


**Time Heals All Wounds**

"All contact with Sunset Shire was lost today, as the forces of the Eggman Empire annexed the coastal town. Estimates of casualties are still coming in, but those who managed to escape the settlement have given us reports of the use of hundreds of Shadowbots, supported by…"

"Aurora's sake, change the channel!"

Mina winced as she sat in the bar, drinking from a bitters. She wanted to say it was appropriate, given her disposition over the last few months (and the disposition of everyone else in Knothole), but there wasn't any grand reason behind it. She drank it because she liked it. Also, in her experience in drinking at The Watering Hole, she found that the more alcohol in the beverage, the more likely a guy was to hit on a girl. Which would be fine, if she was in that market right now, but she wasn't. All she wanted to do was to drink in peace, and not be bombarded with questions as to when she was going to put out another song with the Forget Me Knots.

The answer was never. So she leant forward over the counter and continued to sip as a scuffle broke out among the bar's other patrons. Some of them wanted to know what the Eggman Empire was up to these days – mere weeks after the defeat of the xorda and the death of Sonic, Eggman had launched his conquest of the world, pressing up against everyone who'd so far escaped his grip. Despite the losses the aliens had inflicted upon his forces, he'd rebuilt with rapid speed, while even now, the Kingdom of Acorn, Station Square, and all their allies were still licking their wounds. The xorda had failed to destroy the world, and now, Eggman looked set to finish the job. Understandable why some people wanted to know how quickly he was doing it.

Of course, there was the other camp – the ones who wanted to watch Comedy Chimp shorts, who wanted to pretend that everything was just fine, the ones who wanted to keep their heads in the sand and hope that the whole thing would blow over. After all, they reasoned, the original Robotnik had tried to conquer Knothole for ten years, and had died the same day he'd succeeded. Up until now, Eggman had likewise failed. Even if Sonic was gone, the group who'd resisted him had been called Freedom Fighter_s_, so why worry? Way Mina saw it, there was plenty of reason to worry, and not just from the bottle flying through the air that was coming her way. Taking a sip of her bitters, she ducked and let the brawl continue.

"Nice place."

Mina groaned inwardly as a fellow mobian sat beside her. Her lack of alcohol had put most people off so far, but apparently the gig was up.

"You come here often?"

She responded by taking a large slurp from the bitters, while the bar owner managed to break up the brawling parties.

"Rhetorical question. I've known you've been coming here for awhile."

Narrowing her gaze, Mina looked at the mobian who'd taken a seat beside her. And he must have had a sixth sense or something, because as soon as she looked at him, he looked back at her.

"Ash Mongoose," he said, sticking out a paw.

Mina didn't take it, and instead took the time to look at him. "Punk" was the first word that came to mind – baggy jeans, a torn shirt, sunglasses, and earrings not too dissimilar to the ones she had. Earrings that jingled as his ears twitched, and he withdrew the hand.

"So…" Ash said.

Mina returned to her bitters.

"You, um…"

She sighed. "How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

"Uh-huh." She finished the bitters and gestured to the barkeep to give her another one. "Well, listen Ash, I'm sure you're sweet, and loving, and caring-"

"Eh, not really."

"…but the answer's no." She exchanged some credits and began drinking again.

"No? You don't even know what the question is."

Mina snorted. "There's two questions people ask me these days. One is, can I buy you a drink? Two, is when you're going back to doing singing?" She glanced at him. "Answer's gonna be 'no' either way."

"Technically saying 'no' to 'when are you going back to singing' isn't proper grammar."

_Smartass._

"Barkeep," Ash said. "Get the lady a lemon barley."

Mina glared at him.

"Well," Ash said. "That wasn't so hard."

She returned to the bitters. "I don't like lemon barley," she murmured.

"Fair enough," Ash said. "But hey, if it's that easy for a guy to buy you a drink, imagine how easy it'll be for you to start singing again."

She tried to ignore him. Just as she tried to ignore reports of the concentration camps on Angel Island.

"Listen," Ash said. "I'm gonna level with you."

Mina sipped more of her bitters, and pretended not to notice the barley that was slid her way across the bench.

"I saw you sing before the xorda attacked," he said. "I mean, you only did a few concerts, but you were-"

"Great?" Mina asked. She glanced at him and scowled. "Everyone says I was 'great.'"

"Actually, I was gonna say amazing."

She returned to her drink, hoping that she wasn't blushing. Hoping that she was above such flattery.

"But so far you're only known in Knothole," Ash continued. "And the way I see it, we've got a golden opportunity to let you go global. You-"

"Wait a minute. Who's _we_?"

"Well, you, the Forget Me Knots, and me. As your manager."

Mina stared at him. Of all the attempted pick-ups she'd experienced over the last few months, this had to be the boldest of them all.

"You," she said. "A manager."

"Yeah. You write the songs, I promote the songs, I book stage venues, you sing the songs, we-"

"You. A manager," Mina repeated.

"Um, yeah. You just said that."

Mina laughed – something she hadn't done since the xorda attack. She leant over the bench and smirked. "Do you have any experience?"

"Yes."

"…oh." She hadn't expected that.

"I worked in the music business in Mobotropolis. Back before it became Robotropolis the second time, and before Robotropolis was nuked." He paused, likely reflecting on the incident that was fresh in her mind as well. "Still, Knothole's got plenty of business opportunities as well. So, I run the business, you write the songs, and-"

"Yeah, yeah, that's great," Mina said. "But here's the thing – I don't sing anymore. I don't write anymore. And even if I did, I've got better things to do these days."

"Like what?"

Mina gestured to the flatscreen, now showing footage of an interview with kingdom and G.U.N. commanders about a new mutual defence pact. "That," she said.

Ash nodded. "I know there's a war on."

"So you know why-"

"Sienna Songbird. You ever heard of her?"

"Course I have," Mina snapped. "One of the greatest divas in the Kingdom of Acorn. Back before Robotnik came to the scene."

"Then you'd know that she used to sing for kingdom soldiers in the Great War. Even in the darkest of times, she got the soldiers' spirits up. Well before Robotnik turned the tide."

Mina scoffed. "What. You think I'm as good as Sienna?"

"No. I think you can be better."

Mina stared at him, before slowly taking a sip of her bitters. Of all the attempted pickups she'd had, this was turning out to be one of the most persuasive so far. Because there was no way that Ash Mongoose or anyone else could possibly think she was on that level…right?

"Mina?"

She got to her feet. "I've got to go."

"Mina, come on."

"No, really. I've got to go." She looked at her watch. "Freedom Fighter meeting."

Ash's ears twitched. "Didn't think you were a Freedom Fighter."

"Oh, I'm not. But, well, I will be. Soon. Right after I…" She trailed off, and rubbed her back – the bullet wound was still giving her issues. "Anyway, like I said, gotta go."

Ash smirked. "You've got super speed, and you've got to leave in a hurry?"

Mina shrugged, deciding not to tell him that when she ran fast, the wound hurt the most.

"Fine," he said, throwing his hands up in defeat. "Still, I know a winner when I see one. So, just take this (he gave her a business card) and call me if you change your mind, okay?"

Mina looked at the card – it had a name, an address, and a number, with nothing else. She raised an eyebrow.

"Do I give you my number?" she asked. "I mean, usually boys ask me if they can have my number before they try and give theirs."

"Purely business kid. Purely business."

"Right…" Mina wasn't sure if she believed him, but nevertheless pocketed the card. She gave the screen one last look (reforestation efforts in Downunda) and Ash, who'd taken her lemon barley for himself. Which didn't bother her in the slightest, she told herself. After all, he'd paid for it. He rose the glass to her in a toast.

_Asshole. _

She took a breath and zoomed off, trying to ignore the pain in her back.

* * *

**Mongoose. Enemy. Priority Three.**

Mina yelped as she jumped back from the attacking Shadowbot. At ten feet tall, it towered over her, and she knew that it could squash her flat if she let it. For a moment, she wondered how it might treat her if she was of Priority 2 or the fabled Priority 1 that SWATbots had always treated Sonic as. Only Sonic wasn't here, and Shadowbots weren't SWATbots. Unlike their predecessors, Shadowbots were gargantuan metal constructs that were three times as tall as the automatons which had preceded them.

She flipped over the robot's sweeping hand as it tried to splatter her. Her back was screaming, begging her to stop. Every movement tore at her muscle, every use of super speed fed the fire. She grit her teeth as sweat saturated her fur, as the robot reorientated itself.

"Come on," she whispered. "Come on…"

It tried to squash her. She dodged it and jumped up, kicking the robot. She had enough speed to get it to stagger, but not nearly enough to topple it, or actually cause any damage.

"Come on," a voice said over her earpiece. "Take it!"

"I'm trying!" she yelled, as the Shadowbot lunged at her. She rolled aside, even as her back screamed at her to stop.

"Well try harder!"

_Oh yeah. Great encouragement. _She jumped back and took a moment to reflect what she should do.

_What would Sonic do?_

He could have done any number of things, she reflected. A spin attack. A triple spin. A Sonic tornado. He could have run fast enough to turn the ground into tar, or simply used a combination of his speed and agility to down the Shadowbot with his feet and fists. Only that didn't help her, because a lot of those abilities were his, and his alone. She had some speed, some agility, and a wound that refused to heal that was slowing her down. So-

"Mina, look out!" came a voice over her earpiece.

She screamed as the Shadowbot slammed its hand against her. Not so much from the hand itself (even if it still hurt) but from the force of her back being slammed against the cold floor. Her back screamed. Her heart flickered. Her vision blacked out for a second…

She could see Sonic. Sally. Feel the blood rushing out of her back after the weasel had shot her. As Sonic held her in her arms, and she whispered that she loved him, not sure if he'd even heard her…

**Simulation terminated. Simulation terminated.**

…and then returned to the waking world. The Shadowbot removed its hand from her body and stood up straight, the red glow in its visor winking out. A door to the combat room opened and out came three figures. Commander Geoffrey St. John. Miles "Tails" Prower. And one of the last people Mina wanted to see right now, Princess Sally Acorn.

Mercifully, it was Tails who came over to her first. She gave him a small smile. "So…how'd I do?"

He didn't answer at first, as his attention was on some doo-hicky that was scanning her body.

"Guys?" She even dared to meet Sally's gaze. "Girls?"

She looked at Geoffrey who whispered something in Sally's ear. Sally gave him a glare, and muttered something back. The skunk shrugged, and headed out.

"Really loving the silent treatment by the way."

Tails sighed and patted her on the shoulder. "Mina...well, that was okay. Better than the last ten times…"

She forced a smile. "That bad huh?"

Sally walked over and extended a hand. "Come on," the princess said. "We need to talk."

Gingerly, Mina took it. Wincing as she was pulled to her feet, as past wounds tore away at her body.

Back and heart both.

##

Mina was sitting on the edge of a bed in a Freedom Fighter HQ med bay. Sally was standing, looking over her like some mother hen. Tails was fiddling with a device nearby, remaining silent. And right now, it was Sally who was doing the talking, after Mina begged for another chance.

"Mina, I get it. Really. But the only thing you can offer the Freedom Fighters is your speed. And it's clear that your ability to run is becoming compromised."

"Oh yeah. Sure. I'm only the fastest thing alive now, now that Sonic's-"

"Actually Shadow's the fastest thing alive," Tails said. "Y'see, I did…"

The squirrel and mongoose glared at him.

"…yeah. Okay. I'll be quiet." He returned to a small rectangular device he was working on.

Thing was, Mina didn't mind so much. She'd gladly take Tails over Sally right now.

"Mina," Sally said, her words filling the med bay.

How old was Tails now, she wondered? Eleven? Twelve? Not that it mattered of course, but-

"Mina!"

The mongoose met Sally's gaze. She glared, while Sally's remained blank.

"Mina, I've talked with Geoffrey," Sally said. "He's, um, impressed…"

_Liar._

…but the Secret Service doesn't really have a place for you right now." She began walking back and forth, rubbing her hands against each other. "And the Freedom Fighters are always happy to have new recruits, but…"

Mina sighed. "I get it," she said.

Sally looked at her. "Mina, this isn't about-"

"I get it," the mongoose repeated. "I tried for the Freedom Fighters once and failed. I froze up. Fair point. But that was then, this is now. Eggman's conquering the world, no-one's been able to stop him, and Sonic's gone. So unless Shadow decides to help us, I'm the fastest mobian you have."

Mina waited for a response, but didn't get one. Sally's eyes had turned very distant, very quickly. As soon as she'd mentioned the word "Sonic" to be exact. And she might have cared about that, if not for the bigger picture.

"I know you're fast," Sally murmured. "But you've tried to defeat our reprogrammed Shadowbot eleven times, and in each encounter, you've done worse. I've talked to Tails, and he's talked to Doctor Quack, and-"

"Listen princess," Mina snapped. She got to her feet, earning her a glance from Tails. "I know there's unfinished business between us-"

"There really isn't."

"…but Sonic's gone." She got to her feet. "I miss him, you miss him, and…" She trailed off. She'd taken a step towards Sally (who'd remained in place, giving Mina an icy stare), but winced, as the pain in her back flared up. She stumbled back onto the bed. The bullet had been removed from her body not long after it had torn through her, but the damn thing was still affecting her. She looked up at Sally, whose eyes weren't as icy now, but still distant at the mention of Sonic.

"You're right," she murmured. "Sonic isn't here. That's why I need the best Freedom Fighters I can get."

"Y'know, I can at least take another bullet for you," Mina murmured. "There's that."

Sally gave her a look. Not in rage, not in contempt, just, "a look." And that by itself was enough to make Mina feel ashamed, and tone her voice.

"Or I can do…other things," she murmured.

Sally gave her a small smile and patted her on the shoulder. "I'm sure you can. But right now, fighting for the kingdom isn't one of them." She looked at Tails, who'd come over with the device. "Tails can give you the basics of it. But until then…"

She trailed off, trying to keep herself composed. Both Mina and the fox watched her exit the room, the med bay door opening with a hiss, and closing with a clang. Leaving an awkward silence between Mina and a kid at least three years her junior.

"Right," said Tails. He held up the device towards Mina. "Turn over please."

Mina raised an eyebrow. "The heck is that?"

"This?" Tails beamed as only a kid could. "It's a doo-hicky."

"Right. And what's its real name?"

"Um…doo-hicky?"

"You named a device after…" Mina trailed off – her back was flaring up again. "Fine. Sure. Can't do anything else."

She obeyed and pulled up her vest. She couldn't see what Tails was doing, but heard a low hum.

"Hmm…" Tails said.

_Hmm? Hmm is never good._

"Not too bad, but not too good."

"Tails, what are you even doing?" Mina asked.

"Checking the bullet wound." The doo-hicky turned off and without waiting for permission, Mina got up and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Well?" she asked.

"Well?"

"Is it bad or good?"

Tails put the device aside. "Good news is that there's no permanent damage. Bullet was removed months ago, and the muscle's healing."

"Right. And what's the bad news?"

"That you're making it worse."

"Worse?"

"Your super speed. It's tearing at the wound, retarding the healing process. It's why you've done worse with the Shadowbot every time."

It was so strange, hearing a fox that wasn't even really a teen talk like a doctor. But as much as Mina wanted a second opinion right now, she had the feeling that it would be the same as his. Tails might not have been a doctor in the same way that Horatio Quack was, but in the time she'd spent with him training for the Freedom Fighters, she'd quickly realized that he was a top notch mechanic. Maybe even as good as Rotor. Heck, even better.

"This for Sally?" Mina asked. "A way to kick me out for good?"

"What? No. Of course not." Mina remained silent and Tails asked, "okay, what's between you two anyway?"

Mina leant back on the bed. "Nothing's between us."

"Mina, you…" He sighed. "You miss him, right?"

"Huh? Who?"

"Sonic."

She glanced at him. "Course I miss him. Why wouldn't I miss him?"

"Yeah, but…I dunno. It's like whenever I've seen you here and he's come up, there's a look in your eyes that's like Amy's, or Sally's, or-"

"Tails, if I need advice from a kid, I'll take it from one of the orphans I help babysit."

She regretted her words immediately, given the look on Tails's face. "I'm sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have said that."

Tails shrugged. The best Mina could say for the situation was that the issue of Sonic had been shifted away. Only thing was, Tails was shifting away as well, heading off for one of the benches that had a cluster of tools. Mina got up.

"So, do I get a prescription, or…"

"Just try to go slow. Your body should do the work for you."

"Right. Go slow." She rubbed her back. "Only thing I can do, and I can't do it."

Tails looked round from the bench. "What do you mean the only thing I can do?"

"I've got super speed Tails. I can't use it. I mean, I thought I could when I charged the Quantum Dial with everyone else, even if my back hurt like hell at the time, but-"

"Mina, you can do way more than just run. I mean, you can sing."

Her eyes narrowed.

"I mean, it was such a shame when you quit. I thought your singing was excellent."

Mina snorted. "Excellent. Right…"

"It was," Tails said.

She decided not to tell Tails that someone else today had called her singing "excellent," and that she still had his card. Unfortunately, her silence wasn't putting the fox off from letting his tongue run ahead of his mouth.

"I mean, look at me," said Tails. "I can fly with these (he tapped his tails), fly a plane, tinker around…might not be the fastest, or the smartest, or the bravest, but I've never hedged my bets on one talent."

"Tails, dunno if you noticed, but Eggman isn't going to run away from my singing."

"Well, no, not unless you sing real bad…which you won't, of course…but, I mean…" He shrugged. "Look, I might not have been with the Freedom Fighters as long as everyone else, but we still had time for fun. And maybe the people of Knothole could use some fun as well. And…"

"And?"

"Sorry, that's it. Sally was the one who made the speeches."

Mina chuckled. "Fair point." She headed for the door. "See you Tails."

"Mina, I…"

She glanced back at him. It looked like Tails wanted to say something.

"…nothing," he said. "Forget about it."

"Sure. Okay."

Heading out, she promptly did so. Least as far as forgetting about the fox went.

But not forgetting about everything else.

* * *

"Didn't think you liked lemon barley."

Mina looked up from her notepad and gave Ash a smile – one that was forced, and one that she hoped he could tell was forced. Nevertheless, back at the Watering Hole, he took a seat beside her.

"I tried it," she said. "Turns out I like it. Not as much as the bitters, but I like it."

Ash smirked. "And what else do you like?"

She glanced at the flatscreen, showing image of reconnaissance photos of Sunset Shire. The whole village had been burnt to the ground, and of its original populace, there was no sign. She wanted to say something along the lines of "truth, justice, and freedom," but right now, it didn't seem like the right time to crack a joke. So instead, she took another sip of the barley and said, "a few things."

"Such as?"

She sighed. "Fighting Eggman, for one thing. Only, come to think of it…I don't think I ever actually _did _that." She looked back at Ash, who was remaining silent. "I mean, Combots, Shadowbots, bounty hunters, the xorda…sometimes I think I never actually did anything. That the only time I made a difference was when I sang."

"It was," Ash said.

Mina scowled. "Gee, thanks, asshole."

"In a good way," Ash added hastily.

"Right. I get to be useless in a _good way_." She returned to the barely, took a sip, and continued to speak. "Well, good news Mister Mongoose. I can't run – least if I want my back to remain in good shape for the next year or so. Might be one of the fastest mobians alive, but right now, that counts for diddly. But…"

"But?" Ash asked.

Mina looked at him and smiled. "You're really not the subtle type are you?"

"Kid, you've got no idea."

Mina wanted to tell Ash that she wasn't a kid, but having called Tails that despite only a few years of difference, she decided not to – why Tails was entering her mind again, she didn't know, but she supposed it didn't matter.

"I thought about what you said," Mina murmured. "Actually, what a lot of people have said. And I can't think that maybe…that maybe it's time to get back into the singing game. And that if I'm doing that I'll need a…"

"Manager?"

She sighed. "Yes. A manager. I-"

"Great." Ash got out a small pocket notebook and popped it on the table. "Sign here please."

She raised an eyebrow. "You really don't slow down do you?"

"Kid…I mean, Mina, sooner I and everyone else get to hear you sing again, the better."

_Better for who though? _Mina looked at the notepad, which had a number of terms and conditions, and ample room for her to sign. She made the time to read the fine print, and saw nothing untoward.

"This a new song?"

Hearing untoward things though? That happened. Ash had picked up her own notepad and she promptly snatched it back.

"Hey, relax. Just peaking."

"Well don't." She snapped the notebook shut with a thump, before looking back at Ash. She looked at him for a good five seconds, before saying, "it is a new song. First one I've written in months. First one that…well, actually only started it yesterday."

"Uh-huh. Got a name?"

Mina smiled, in spite of the pain in her back. In spite of the wounds in her heart. In spite of everything, and everyone, as she signed her name on Ash's contract and handed it back to him.

"Yep," she said. "_Time Heals All Wounds_." She sipped more of her barley.

Hoping that the title's claim was true.

* * *

_A/N_

_So, my memory of the Archie comics gets a bit hazy after Issue 125, so maybe Mina did take to the field again, but am I the only one that's bothered by her effectively throwing away any attempts at being a Freedom Fighter after getting her heart broken (and her back shot) in Issue 123? And am I the only one bothered by the fact that I'm bothered?_

_If that sounds convoluted, I have to admit, there's no actual law in fiction or reality that pursuing a different career from "fighting the good fight" makes you a lesser individual. And, granted, if Mina had stuck around with super-speed...well, thing is, super-speed isn't that unique in the setting. Singing however is a bit rarer, even if it's hard to convey its supposed quality through a comic. So much as I dislike MinaxAsh and MinaxTails, did give me something to work with I guess._


End file.
